Designing the future of Cinema, in the now.

The realm of entertainment, its notions, responsibilities, and media of representation are a constantly transforming landscape. Within that, there is no sphere broader than that of films to encompass that fully. Cinema, a medium considered to be an immensely accessible and influential one, has come a long way, both in its production and exhibition. From moving images on celluloid constituting the first minute-long films, to the first feature-length film, the introduction of sound, color, 3D, and later computer-generated imagery, to entirely machinated and highly sophisticated projection systems on the largest screens possible today, the display of films have been on an ever-upward curve. Film technology has gone on to encompass formats including IMAX, RealD, 4DX, Dolby, DoubleD, Atmos, and VR aiming to transform an individual’s theatre-going experience to a more holistic, near otherworldly one. Still, the film viewing experience stands to be further completely turned around in the coming decade.

Furthermore, this advancement in technology has proven to be a double-edged sword for cinema. With growing sophistication in the production and exhibition of films, streaming services on mobile devices too have made huge strides. Amid stiff competition, huge production costs, rising discontent among viewers, and no guarantee of a fruitful return will the cinema theatre thrive? In doing so, it will have to evolve.

The design challenge was to extrapolate and visualize the cinema space of/for the future for a total of 75 people in an adaptive volume (detailed in the brief).

The design should incorporate various trends that have emerged in the sphere, and extrapolate a decade into the future to come up with a design that represents the future of cinema ten years from now: one that is as suitably public, commercially viable, and artistically expressive as the very medium of film itself.

The jury for the competition consisted of esteemed designers, professionals, and academicians from around the world. The Lead Jurors for the competitions were as follows:

Jeffrey L. Day, Founding Principal, Actual Architecture Company, United States

Manuelle Gautran, Architect, Manuelle Gautrand Architecture, France

Oleg Shapiro, Partner, Wowhaus bureau, Russia

Martin Ostermann, Prof. + Director, Magma Architecture, Germany

Lena Kleinheinz, Director, Magma Architecture, Germany

Some of the Best of competition projects are:

Winning Project: Cinema WAVE

By: 유진 양, 수진 김 & 상민 박

Description: Currently, the cinema is facing the biggest crisis due to Covid-19. Globally, pandemics can be repeated again in the future, and through pandemics, existing systems and thinking will have a turning point. This cinema creates the flow of movies again in everyday life.

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People’s Choice: ECO CUBE

By: M. Lichaczewska, Kamila Czesnowska & Katarzyna Cichy

Description: Eco cube is our vision of the cinema of the future. The main idea of our project is to create a cubic form equipped with a variety of modern technologies, which may become an integral part of every building in the future. The building is not consuming energy anymore - they are creating it! The cube is universal and can be a part of every environment.

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Editor’s Choice: Cinemossa

By: Alexandru Ambrosa

Description: The idea of a cinema has always been associated with a ‘darkroom’, in which groups of people were invited to take their private place and watch a succession of images shot on a two-dimensional screen.

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Editor’s Choice: Red Pill

By: Марк Ли & Ildar Fatkullin

Description: The cinema is a door to another world. Simple forms hide a different reality in themselves.

Contrast with their surroundings to attract viewers.

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Editor’s Choice: NON GRAMME

By: Marysia Opłatek

Description: Since watching movies at home had become common we aren’t thrilled to watch them in cinemas. In order to enjoy anything we need to be emotionally stimulated however, this happens only when we are engaged in the activity that we are doing. Watching movies is not one of them anymore, “just” a movie on screen is not enough for today’s viewers.

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Editor’s Choice: KINETIC CINEMA

By: Justin Acevedo

Description: KINETIC CINEMA is a cinematic experience that pioneers a new evolutionary phase of immersive digital environments. This cinema concept marries virtual motion picture with physically moving pictures to create a tangible extended reality experience.

Discover the design brief here: https://uni.xyz/competitions/cinema-futurismo/info/about

Discover the full results here: https://uni.xyz/competitions/cinema-futurismo/entries

Discover other design competitions to participate here: https://uni.xyz/competitions